How to Make a Round Window Frame

Round windows are attractive in practically any location on a house. These windows are found in bathrooms and high ceilings to bring bolts of sunlight into areas that typically go without. The rounded frames of these windows are easily made from a sturdy hardwood with or without crossbeams to hold the glass. Purchase hardwood boards that have been treated to prevent warping because the stability of the window frame is delicate, leaving no room for warping.

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J.R.R. Tolkien used round windows for his Hobbit holes.

Step 1

Clamp two 1-by-4-by-60-inch treated maple boards together side by side lengthwise with the ends flush to each other.

Step 2

Mark lines across the two boards widthwise every 1/4 inch from one end to the other.

Step 3

Cut 1/16-inch slots into the two boards at each line to a depth of 29/32 inch. This is called kerfing the board.

Step 4

Remove the clamps from the boards.

Step 5

Mark a circle 20 inches in diameter in the middle of a 1-by-40-by-40-inch plywood sheet and cut the circle out with a jigsaw.

Step 6

Bend one kerfed board into a circle with the smooth side inside the circle. Use wood glue to seal the two ends together.

Step 7

Place the maple circle inside the 20-inch-diameter circle cut out of the plywood so the plywood is centered around the maple circle. Allow the glue to cure for 24 hours inside the plywood clamp, then repeat the process with the second kerfed board.

Step 8

Place two 1-by-10-by-23-inch boards next to each other lengthwise. Draw a circle 72 inches in circumference on the two boards with one half of the circle, which is a semicircle, on each board. Cut out the two semicircles. Repeat this process with two more 1-by-10-by-23-inch boards.

Step 9

Draw a second semicircle 2 inches inside the first semicircle on all four pieces of maple. Cut along the second semicircle to create four arches.

Step 10

Drill two 1/4-inch holes, using a 1/4-inch boring bit and a cordless drill, into each end of the four arches.

Step 11

Drip wood glue into each hole and insert a 1-inch wood dowel, 1/4 inch in diameter, into the holes on two arches. Connect the two remaining arches to the two with dowels and clamp the arches together creating two maple wood circles. Allow the glue to cure for two hours.

Step 12

Paint the exposed edges of the kerfed circle with wood glue.

Step 13

Place a maple circle on the edge of the kerfed circle. The diameter of the kerfed circle and the diameter of the maple circle are each 19 inches.

Step 14

Nail the maple circle to the kerfed circle using 2-inch wood nails.

Step 15

Attach the second maple circle to the second kerfed circle using the same procedure, making the second half of a circular window frame.